Court filings for Hamilton County criminal cases live in two places: the statewide MyCase portal, which publishes docket entries for the Circuit and Superior Courts, and the Hamilton County Clerk’s Office, located at 1 Hamilton County Square, Suite 106, Noblesville, IN 46060, open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Booking records — the Sheriff’s side of an arrest — are held separately by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office. The Clerk’s Office can be reached at 317-776-9629 to confirm current records-request fees before you visit.
If someone you know was just booked tonight, our Hamilton County inmate-search page has phone-first contact info.
If your person has a history in other states
A Hamilton County search covers only records generated within Indiana’s court and Sheriff systems, which means arrests in other states or federal cases won’t appear on MyCase. A nationwide search may help fill gaps that local portals often leave, particularly for records that pre-date the portal’s online window or involve name variants across multiple states. The preliminary scan is free; a full report requires creating an account.
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How to look up arrest records in Hamilton County
Court records and arrest records in Hamilton County come from two distinct systems, and knowing which one you need saves a trip. Court records — charges filed, case numbers, hearing dates, dispositions — live on the Clerk’s side. Booking records — the physical arrest, the booking photo, the initial charges as entered by the arresting agency — live on the Sheriff’s side. Neither system automatically mirrors the other, and a case can appear in one before it shows up in the other.
MyCase (statewide court portal). Indiana’s MyCase portal is the fastest way to pull Hamilton County court docket entries without leaving your desk. Search by name or case number. Results show case type, charges, filing date, attorney of record, and scheduled hearings. MyCase covers Hamilton County Circuit Court and all Superior Courts. It does not show booking records or mugshots — those require a separate Sheriff request.
Hamilton County Clerk’s Office. For certified copies of court records, contact the Hamilton County Clerk’s Office directly. The office is at 1 Hamilton County Square, Suite 106, Noblesville, IN 46060. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 317-776-9629 to confirm the current records-request fee before visiting. The Clerk’s Office handles both misdemeanor and felony court filings. Expect a metal detector at the courthouse entrance; the Clerk’s counter typically moves quickly with minimal wait times reported. Paid and street parking are available around the courthouse square.
Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office. Booking records — including the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office records page — are the authority for arrest-side data. The Sheriff’s online search tool at Records | Hamilton County, IN covers public records requests routed through the Sheriff. The county also publishes a Daily Incidents log for recent Sheriff activity. For records requests not available online, contact the Sheriff’s Office directly — confirm numbers and hours before visiting or calling.
Hamilton County Public Records Search. The county’s own Public Records Search portal aggregates a range of county records in one interface. It is a useful cross-check when you’re not sure which department holds the record you need.
Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC). If the person you’re researching was sentenced to state prison rather than the county jail, the Indiana Department of Correction offender search is the right tool. IDOC records are separate from Hamilton County jail records and won’t appear in the Sheriff’s local lookup.
Practical note. The Hamilton County Clerk’s Office phone line can experience wait times during busy periods. Visiting in person during mid-morning on a weekday tends to be faster than calling. Verify accepted payment methods before your visit, as different offices within the courthouse may have different requirements.
Are Hamilton County arrest records public?
Unless a court has ordered otherwise, arrest records in Hamilton County are open to the public. Indiana’s open-records framework, Ind. Code § 5-14-3, establishes that booking records — including booking photos — are generally available to anyone who requests them. That default-public status applies to the Sheriff’s booking data, the Clerk’s court filings, and the daily incident logs the Sheriff publishes online.
Exceptions exist and matter. Juvenile records are not public. A case involving a minor is handled through a separate court process, and those records are sealed by default. Victim-protection redactions apply in certain cases — addresses, contact information, and identifying details for protected parties are withheld even when the rest of the record is public. Cases involving ongoing investigations may also have limited public access while the investigation is active.
The most significant exception for records-checkers is expungement. When a Hamilton County court grants an expungement petition under Indiana’s Second Chance Law, the record is sealed from public view. MyCase will no longer return it in a public search. The Sheriff’s booking data is removed from public-facing systems. To a member of the public running a records check, the arrest effectively disappears. Law enforcement agencies retain access — that distinction is covered in detail in the expungement section below.
Dismissed cases and acquittals occupy a middle ground. Indiana law provides for automatic expungement of dismissals and acquittals, with the order taking effect no sooner than 60 days after the dismissal. Until that order takes effect, the dismissed case may still appear in public searches. After it does, the record is sealed the same way a petitioned expungement would be.
If you run a search on MyCase or through the Sheriff’s records portal and find nothing, that absence could mean the person has no record in Hamilton County — or it could mean a record exists but has been sealed. The two outcomes look identical from the public side.
What’s in a Hamilton County arrest record?
Pull up a Hamilton County case on MyCase and you’ll see the court-side picture: case number, filing date, charge descriptions with statute citations, the assigned judge, scheduled hearing dates, sentencing dates if the case has concluded, probation terms if imposed, and the attorney of record. The Hamilton County Courthouse processes both misdemeanor and felony matters, and the docket entries reflect each stage of the case as it moves through the courts at that address.
The Sheriff’s booking record tells a different story. It captures the arrest itself — booking date and time, the arresting agency (which may be the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, Carmel PD, Fishers PD, or another municipal department operating in the county), the charges as entered at booking, and the booking photo. Booking charges and court-filed charges sometimes differ; prosecutors may amend or add charges after the initial booking. The two records are not always in sync, especially in the days immediately following an arrest.
Docket entries visible on MyCase for Hamilton County cases typically include: initial appearance date, bond amount set at first appearance, all subsequent hearing dates (pretrial conferences, status hearings, trial dates), any continuances, the final disposition (guilty plea, verdict, or dismissal), sentencing date, sentence imposed, and any probation or community corrections terms. If the defendant had counsel, the attorney’s name and bar number appear in the docket.
The Criminal Rules published by Hamilton County’s courts govern local procedure and can help you interpret procedural entries in a docket you’re reading. For the mugshot release policy specific to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, contact the Sheriff’s records division directly — the policy is not posted in the publicly available online documentation.
One practical note: MyCase docket entries reflect what the Clerk has entered into the system. There can be a lag between a court event and its appearance online. If you need a record of something that happened recently, calling the Clerk’s Office at 317-776-9629 is more reliable than waiting for the portal to update.
How to expunge an arrest record in Hamilton County
Record sealed, background check comes back clean — that’s the practical outcome of a successful expungement petition in Hamilton County. But law enforcement agencies retain access to sealed records even after the public cannot see them. That distinction matters: expungement changes what the public sees, not what a police officer or prosecutor can access through restricted channels.
Indiana handles all criminal-record relief through a single statute: Ind. Code § 35-38-9 (Indiana “Second Chance Law”). There is no separate sealing statute. The law is tiered by offense level, and the tier determines the waiting period and whether the court must grant the petition or may exercise discretion.
Arrests without a conviction. If you were arrested in Hamilton County but never convicted — the case was dismissed, you were acquitted, or charges were never filed — you can petition to expunge the arrest record one year after the arrest date. Dismissals and acquittals are also eligible for automatic expungement, with the order taking effect no sooner than 60 days after the dismissal. For a non-conviction expungement, file your petition in the Hamilton County court where the arrest occurred.
Misdemeanor convictions. A misdemeanor conviction becomes eligible for expungement five years after the conviction date, provided you meet the eligibility criteria. The court must grant the petition if you qualify — it is not discretionary at this tier.
Class D / Level 6 felony convictions. These become eligible eight years after the conviction date. The court must grant the petition if you qualify.
More serious felonies. The court may expunge after the later of eight years from conviction or three years from completing the sentence. The most serious felonies — which also require the prosecutor’s written consent — become eligible after the later of ten years from conviction or five years from completing the sentence.
Excluded offenses. Sex offenses, violent offenses, and official-misconduct offenses are excluded from Indiana’s expungement law. The Second Chance Law does not provide a path for those categories.
Filing in Hamilton County. A verified petition must be filed in the Hamilton County court where the conviction occurred (or, for non-conviction records, the court of the county of arrest). Indiana requires that all petitions in a given county be filed together in a single filing — you cannot file piecemeal across multiple sessions. This matters if you have more than one Hamilton County case: bundle them. The Hamilton County Clerk’s Office at 1 Hamilton County Square, Suite 106, Noblesville, handles the filing. Call 317-776-9629 to ask about the current filing fee and whether an indigency waiver is available.
One petition per lifetime. Indiana’s law effectively gives each person one expungement petition per county. Getting the timing right before you file is essential. Confirm the current statute text or ask the Clerk of Court before submitting — the law has been amended before and may change again.
Self-petition vs. attorney-assisted. You can file a petition yourself using the Indiana courts’ e-filing system at Indiana Courts e-filing. An attorney is not required. That said, attorney-assisted petitions tend to be more precisely timed and less likely to be rejected on technical grounds. The Indiana public defender locator at Indiana Public Defender Commission can help if cost is a barrier. The Indiana attorney roll at Indiana Roll of Attorneys lists licensed attorneys by county if you want to find local counsel.
| Resource | What it confirms | What it cannot confirm | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| MyCase — Indiana Courts | Court docket entries, charges filed, hearing dates, dispositions, attorney of record | Booking records, mugshots, sealed/expunged cases | Search by name or case number; free public access |
| Hamilton County Clerk’s Office | Certified copies of court records, filing fees, expungement petition intake | Sheriff booking data, IDOC prison records | Visit 1 Hamilton County Square, Suite 106, Noblesville, Mon–Fri 8 a.m.–4 p.m.; call 317-776-9629 |
| Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office | Booking records, arrest-side data, daily incident logs | Court dispositions, IDOC records | Use the Records | Hamilton County, IN portal or contact the Sheriff’s Office directly |
| Hamilton County Public Records Search | Cross-department county records in one interface | Sealed records, IDOC records, federal cases | Search online; useful when the holding department is unclear |
| Indiana Department of Correction offender search | State prison sentences, IDOC custody status | County jail bookings, court docket entries | Search by name; free public access |
| Indiana State Police | Statewide criminal history (ISP-administered background checks) | Real-time Hamilton County booking data | Request through ISP for a statewide history check; separate from county-level searches |
Sources verified 2026-07-26:
- Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office — booking records, public records requests, daily incident logs
- Hamilton County Clerk’s Office — court filings, certified copies, expungement intake; 1 Hamilton County Square Suite 106, Noblesville, IN 46060; 317-776-9629
- Records | Hamilton County, IN — Sheriff’s public records search portal
- Hamilton County Courts — court information, local criminal rules, e-filing links
- Hamilton County Criminal Rules — local court rules governing criminal procedure
- MyCase — Indiana Courts — statewide public court docket portal
- Hamilton County Public Records Search — county-wide records portal
- Hamilton County Sheriff Daily Incidents — recent Sheriff activity log
- Indiana Department of Correction offender search — state prison custody records
- Indiana Courts e-filing — statewide e-filing system for court petitions including expungement
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Frequently asked questions about Hamilton County arrest records
What is the bond amount on a Hamilton County arrest record, and where do I find it?
Bond is set at the initial hearing after booking, and the amount appears in the Hamilton County court docket on MyCase as a docket entry tied to the first appearance. Search by the person’s name or case number. The docket entry will show the bond amount, any conditions of release, and the date it was set. If the case is very recent and hasn’t yet appeared on MyCase, the Hamilton County Clerk’s Office at 317-776-9629 can confirm what’s in the system. For licensed bail bondsmen authorized to post bond in Hamilton County, the county publishes its Bail Bond Board licensed bondsmen list.
How do I get a Hamilton County arrest record expunged under Indiana law?
Indiana’s expungement process is governed by Ind. Code § 35-38-9 (the Second Chance Law). For an arrest that did not result in a conviction, you can petition one year after the arrest date by filing a verified petition in the Hamilton County court where the arrest occurred. Misdemeanor convictions become eligible five years after conviction; Class D or Level 6 felony convictions after eight years. File your petition through the Indiana Courts e-filing system or in person at the Hamilton County Clerk’s Office, 1 Hamilton County Square Suite 106, Noblesville, IN 46060. Indiana requires all petitions in a given county to be filed together, so gather every Hamilton County case before you file. Call the Clerk at 317-776-9629 to confirm the current filing fee and ask about indigency waivers. You get effectively one petition per county under Indiana law, so confirm your eligibility against the current statute before submitting.
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